i drive a 04 explorer now, i was big into car audio, work at an audio shop here in montgomery, ive always wanted a Evo, so ive been looking around lately for a EVO VIII or something in the 20K$ range, but they are dang hard to find, now ive driven manual a few times and i know how to drive it, im just not the the smoothest on it, i looked around to see i if could rent a manual somewhere and drive it for a few days, but i havnt seen any

i know i would love to drive manual a good bit of the times, espically in a evo, i just dont know about the other times, i spend 90% Of driving on either a backroad for a toll bridge with alot of turns going to school, or a highway with hardly any redlights going home from work, and about 5 mins somedays in traffic

im determined to get a nice car, and evo/sti is 1st on the list, but i dont want to get the car and burn the clutch the first week or stall somewhere bad, are the evo clutches hard to drive? im a quick learner, how long before you think i could get the hang of it?

and if anyone around montgomery has one, i would love to go for a ride in one or at least look at one in person

thanks for any help
Kyle

 

driving manual is the best! i tell myself im going to drive manual til im too old to use the clutch!!! but umm...the evo clutches when stock are a little harder than a honda civic...all my friends already have upgraded clutches and those are pretty stiff...but if you had to pick between the evo or sti...EVO FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good luck!

 

evo's aren't hard to drive...it does take experience to drive it like a pro, but I think if your a fast learner, then it wouldn't be a problem. I say go for it as soon as you find one you like and in your budget...

I had to ask myself the same question if I can live day in and day out driving a manual, but now, I wouldn't even consider driving an auto...

the real question to be asked is if you can stand the stiff suspension. personally i love it, but to some it's too harsh.

 

hey bamaboy, you seem to be in the same situation i was last month. I bought an 04 evo and I could not be happier! I had driven stick before and knew how to operate it, just not daily drive it. As long as your not driving in hour traffic on the George washington bride youll be fine. Your going to drive ther car everyday and if you know how to drive stick good enough to get around the practice you gain in the first two days will be plenty. Just dont beat on it before you fully get control of it, its very "high strung" and gets to red line in a hurrry. Good luck on your purchase, enjoy it.

 

Mitsu is building the car for you and it will be available soon. Save up and get a X.

 

Probably the only time driving a manual hasn't been a joy for me was in bumper to bumper traffic... but hey it wouldn't have been a joy in an auto so take it or loose it

 

You'll be fine. If you were in a lot of stop and go traffic it might be a different story but, you'll absolutely love having a stick on backroads.

Just go easy on it until you get a feel for the clutch, don't slip it too much and you'll be fine.

 

I've been driving manual for 7 years now. I hate driving an automatic. It's boring to me. the only time that i don't like it for a brief second is after a loooong day at work and i'm stuck in traffic but 99.9 percent of the time I LOVE IT

 

after you get used to it, it is as normal as driving an auto everyday

 

don't want to burn your clutch in a first week? easy, drive smoothly, drive with care, dont dump the clutch like some of the memeber here and you will be fine.

 

You will be fine, first check insurance cost too cuz evo insurance aint cheap....

 

my mom works for statefarm so i try to get the best deals

i wouldnt drop the clutch for a while, i dont rag stuff out hardly at all, i try to take care of everything i own

and the suspension cant be too much harder than my explorer, that thing is pretty dang stiff

from almost everyone i ask that gets manual, they love it, dad had a 5speed mustang gt thats where i learned to drive one, and we had a older toyota truck we used for junk that was 5sp, but clucth was bad burnt out on it

when a car stalls out, is it messing anything up? i know it messes stuff up when you ride the clutch alot

so a day or 2 and i would have it down pretty much you think, thats why im trying to find a rental car, how much would shifting differ from cheap rental car to a evo?

 

it all depends on the car really but the concept is the exact same

 

I pretty much learned how to drive stick on my Evo. My last car was an M3 and had the SMG transmission, so I already knew how much fun it was to be able to shift for yourself and be more "in control". However, the Evo clutch was a different story. After practicing in my uncle's manual Civic for a few hours, I went to the dealer to test drive the Evo I wanted to buy - and... stalled out three times in a row because I couldn't figure out where the damn clutch engagement point was (so much higher than the Civic's ) Looked over at the poor dealer in the passenger seat (who was cringing by now), and was like "I'll take it!"

Anyway, the first few days, I would wake up every night @ 0200 and take the car out on empty roads to work on my shifting. Felt pretty comfortable driving it after a week or two, and only improved as time went on... Never looked back

Good Luck!

 

Im 27 and have never owned an automatic car.